Banksy Artwork will be auctioned off at Sotheby's, the historic art auction house. Sotheby's will offer real-time bids to Ethereum. This is an absolute first for both the art market as well as the cryptocurrency market.
The auction, called "The Now", will take place on November 18. It will include Banksy artwork Trolley Hunters and Love in the Air. The paintings are currently priced at $5 to 7million and $4 to 6million USD, respectively, as of publication. The auction "The Now" appears to be the first time that the 277-year old art house will prioritize crypto over fiat currency.
In collaboration with Coinbase, Sotheby's began accepting cryptocurrency for payment in May 2018. However this isn't Sotheby's first exposure to the cryptocurrency markets, this year they've auctioned off NFT's such as Bored Apes Yacht Club and Cryptopunks. Just like Facebook's recent announcement, Sotheby's too is getting into the MetaVerse. They will have a division dedicated to NFT's, called Sotheby's MetaVerse.
Bansky's Trolley Hunters (2006) will be offered at Sotheby's New York next week, estimate: $5m to $7m.Courtesy of Sotheby's
Here's Why This Is A Big Deal
Ever since NFTs first began to capture the attention of both art buyers and auction houses, many auction houses have been deeply committed to outdoing one another with their own cryptocurrency-adjacent offerings.
This news is a VERY big deal to both the art market as well as the cryptocurrency market. It seems both markets have been intertwined the past few years and things only seem to be growing.
- Ethereum holders may become the new target demographic for auction houses, as their Ethereum holdings grow in the future
- Despite both Banksy artwork not being NFT's, this auction being live bid in Ethereum only validates both NFT's and Ethereum
- Buying Ethereum as an investment to possibly be able to afford expensive art in the future, may be a soon to be trend
- Auction houses may one day offer a discount to buyers who pay in Bitcoin and Ethereum, auction houses are in the strict business of making money and accepting an increasing popular asset which is gaining in price vs the USD is much more profitable for them
- The entire art market may resemble itself on Ethereum in the future, seeing that majority of NFT's are based on the Ethereum network and now we're seeing art live bid for Ethereum
Sotheby's began accepting Bitcoin and Ether for physical art payment in May 2021. This was just months after Christie's had become the first auction house to auction off Beeple's NFT. The auction house had a remarkable return of $69 346,250 when the NFT was first sold.
Sotheby's isn't the only luxury auction house that has sold Banksy Artwork in digital currencies. Phillips Auction House hosted an auction in May for Banksy's "Laugh Now Panel", which was valued at $2.8-$4.1 million. The settlement would be in cryptocurrency.
